The 15 Best Branded Stunts and Activations of 2018 (So Far)

This year's abundance of branded stunts and activations may make it feel like a recent trend, but the tactic has been a marketing staple since the 1800s. One of the first stunts of this kind to enjoy national attention was in 1896, where a rail line in Texas staged an event in which two trains smashed into each other. An impressive crowd of 40,000 people attended in the aptly named town of Crush, Texas. While we may not have seen any head-on train collisions lately, 2018 has definitely provided a bumper crop of engaging, compelling and sometimes polarizing stunts. With that in mind, we’ve picked 15 that achieved the goal of standing out in a crowded advertising field. IHOb Name Change Brand: IHOP Creative Agency: Droga5 It’s hard to imagine a pancake restaurant creating so much angst. But, in an attempt to get a little action going, the chain swapped its name from IHOP to IHOb, focusing on their burger line. With about 500,000 social mentions and some good-natured ribbing from other brands, we came to find out that this was merely temporary (though we had an idea that was the case), with the brand reverting back to its griddled staple. [kickout id="1"] SpaceX Carries a Tesla Into Space Brand: Tesla Agency: In-house Red Bull may be the gold standard in stunts involving space, but that didn’t stop Elon Musk from launching his Tesla Roadster into space aboard SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket. It’s was a marketing double-whammy, promoting two of Musk's ambitious companies at once. While it didn't cost Tesla any marketing dollars, sister company SpaceX's investment in the development and launch of the rocket was in the ballpark of $500 million—so it wasn’t exactly cheap. [kickout id="14"] Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home Brand: Tourism Australia Creative Agency: Droga5 Never has a movie that wasn’t a movie elicited such strong responses. A reboot of the '80s classic with Danny McBride, the brothers Hemsworth (Chris and Liam) and a gaggle of A-list Aussie talent? Yes, please. Though Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home isn’t real (yet), a fact revealed during the Super Bowl, this was one hell of a way to promote tourism. [kickout id="16"] [kickout id="17"] Everlight Underwear's Money Hiding in Plain Sight Brand: Fruit of the Loom Agency: CP+B It’s the scavenger hunt New Yorkers didn't know existed in the first place. But the prize was what everyone loves: cold, hard cash. Hiding stacks of money in 11 locations, Fruit of the Loom made it easy to find the loot—as long as you paid close attention to ads. The instructions are in (relatively) plain sight around the city and, as of the end of last month five little piles of cash, and fancy new underwear, were still waiting. [kickout id="4"] Jurassic Jeff Brand: Now TV Agency: Fever PR When celebrating the 25th anniversary of a film, what do you do? A new collector's edition disc release is nice. Maybe an event at a theater to mark the occasion. But, if you’re Britain's Now TV celebrating the legacy of Jurassic Park, you put a massive statue of sexy Jeff Goldblum smack in front of London’s City Hall and Tower Bridge. The seductive work of art was a big surprise and a decidedly hilarious way to get people to watch the carnivore classic on Now TV. [kickout id="5"] Winter Olympics Drone Show Brand: Intel Agency: In-house One of the Olympics staples is fireworks at the opening and closing ceremonies. But can you really get the exact shape you want? Enter Intel’s drone extravaganza from the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. After months of preparation, 1,200 drones were choreographed in the sky above, breaking a record (also held by Intel) for the most flown in the air at the same time. [kickout id="6"] Whopper Neutrality Brand: Burger King Agency: David A king of stunts (no pun intended), the QSR giant’s go at educating the public about net neutrality was yet another of the brand's Whopper-centric social experiments. Unsuspecting consumers had some seriously entertaining reactions when they were told that, if they paid a lot more, they’d get their beloved Whopper delivered quickly—a metaphor for the idea of fast and slow lanes that internet service providers could create without net neutrality. The video quickly became Burger King's most-shared ad ever. [kickout id="7"] Deisel: Go With the Fake Brand: Diesel Agencies: Publicis New York, Publicis Italy Diesel opened up a knockoff store of its own products, intentionally misspelling its name as "Deisel" as part of the gag. Shoppers were surprised with one-of-a-kinds in this Fashion Week stunt that caused quite the storm, and made its point about the prevalence of counterfeit merchandise in a unique way. [kickout id="8"] Westworld at SXSW Brand: HBO Agency: Giant Spoon A 2-acre recreation of Sweetwater was not only visually impressive but also required a whopping 444 pages of scripts for the 60 actors who populated the town during SXSW. This bit of HBO magic was the buzziest part of the festival in Austin this year and took immersion to new heights. [kickout id="9"] The Trump Presidential Twitter Library Brand: Comedy Central Agency: 23 Stories x Conde Nast Getting to peak satire, this Daily Show stunt “lovingly” curated Donald Trump’s most famous and infamous tweets. Shuttled around New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles, it was a moving interactive feast of hubris and policymaking done in 140 character chunks. The installation won a Grand Prix at this year's Cannes Lions. [kickout id="10"] David Bowie Subway Station Takeover Brand: Spotify Agency: In-house New York’s Broadway-Lafayette station became a canvas of awesome as Spotify honored David Bowie. Helping to promote the “David Bowie is” exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, the interactive experience told the story of the legendary musician’s connection to the city. Altered Carbon at CES Brand: Netflix Agency: In-house The most popular booth at CES this year was also the creepiest. Yet Netflix scored another home run, promoting a fake company for its very real sci-fi series Altered Carbon. The faux firm, Psychasec, billed itself as a technology that morphs human bodies, promising to keep people alive. The body bags were disturbing, but CES attendees couldn’t get enough. [kickout id="11"] Eight-Hour Sleep Concert at SXSW Brand: Beautyrest Creative Agency: Universal Music Group Most of the time at SXSW, or any big conference for that matter, sleep is hard to come by. But 150 lucky people in Austin were treated to British-German composer Max Richter’s 8-hour epic concerto, "Sleep." With all tucked into Beautyrest beds, this was the ultimate test-drive that left the haggard masses refreshed—assuming they managed to catch some shut-eye during the surreal experience. [kickout id="15"] Amazon's Biggest Delivery Ever Brand: Amazon Creative Agency: Tool of North America Other Partners: Red Rock Entertainment, Universal Studios As it was hauled across Los Angeles, the huge Amazon box was hard to miss. But this stunt took PR-driven promotional stunts to the next level, incorporating scannable codes and Alexa voice-activation technology to dive deeper into the story. The reveal of the T-Rex statue inside the box included the film’s stars, Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, and was a masterful buzz marketing exercise. Deadpool BluRay Walmart Stunt Brand: Fox Home Entertainment Creative Agencies: In-house and Neuron Syndicate Imagine some of your favorite films getting the Deadpool treatment. The likes of The Terminator, Predator, Edward Scissorhands and Fight Club got just that in a clever retail takeover to promote the release of Deadpool 2 at select Walmart stores across the country. What other stunts or activations would make your list for the best of 2018? Let me know on Twitter by tagging @zanger.

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The 15 Best Branded Stunts and Activations of 2018 (So Far)

From space shots to Bowie, it's been a banner year

Doug Zanger

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